


Soiree's Just a Fancy Word for Party

by Isis_McGee



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Professors, Awkward Party, Drinking, F/F, Faculty Party, Minor Castiel/Dean Winchester, Professor Anna, Softball coach Jo, holiday party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isis_McGee/pseuds/Isis_McGee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jo Harvelle hates being the only non-academic at the faculty Holiday party, but this year it turns out it isn't so bad when she meets Anna Milton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soiree's Just a Fancy Word for Party

Jo didn’t understand why she kept making herself come to these things. Every year she felt uncomfortable, like she’s a fraud who doesn’t belong there, but for some reason, part of her mind convinced her that she should go to the faculty holiday party, even if it is mostly professors and their spouses who show up. She’s been the only one of the coaching staff to show up for the last three years. This year however, she either did a good enough job of chewing out her assistant coach last year or it’s got something to do with the massive crush he has on the new Classics professor because Dean showed up about the same time she did. He looked good, maroon button up sans tie with jeans and boots and if Jo hadn’t ever realized that she was pretty exclusively into women, she would have understood if her pulse sped up a little when he smiled at her.

“You clean up good, Winchester,” she told him when they reached each other. He smiled and gave her a once over, letting out a low whistle.

 “So do you, Harvelle.” Jo rolled her eyes. She wasn’t wearing anything special at all, a dark pair of jeans, loose white button down she’d thrown a brown and turquoise belt across to emphasize her waist and a pair of stacked heeled boots. Dean had seen her in similar outfits a number of times.

“I know you’re just complimenting me so you feel alright when you rush off to go talk to Professor Novak. And I’m still going to invite Ruby to Arizona this year, no matter how much you protest.” Dean opened his mouth to say something but Jo cut him off. “I can’t not invite our best third basemen just because she’s a freshman and so far you hate her. I knew that angle too.”

Dean leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of Jo’s head. “We’ve known each other too long.”

“I know.” And with that, Jo was left to feel alone again as Dean’s eyes fell on Castiel Novak, who was in tentative, awkward conversation with Professor Singer if body language was any indication. Jo snorted a laugh and played with a loose thread near her cuff.

She needed a glass of wine. _Thank god they provide alcohol,_ she thought as headed toward the refreshment table and plucked the bottle of white out of the cooler of ice and poured too much into a glass. She knew it was only meant to be half full (just because she didn’t follow the rules didn’t mean she didn’t know them) but hers was closer to being full to the brim. Her eyes darted around before she slurped a bit off the top so when she lifted the glass she wouldn’t spill. It made entirely too much noise when she did, and she knew one of the professors turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She grimaced in apology and took a gulp of wine so she wouldn’t have to worry any more. The professor, one she didn’t recognize at all, turned around and paid her no mind from then on. Jo still felt a little chastised.  She was about to wander off into a corner when a voice stopped her.

“Don’t worry about Zachariah,” someone said behind her. “No one really likes him and he knows it. He tries to be above these sorts of things and the rest of us because of it, but we all know he’s just a prick.”

Jo’s eyes flew wide. The redhead who was talking to her suddenly looked embarrassed, as though she said too much. She cast her eyes downward and blushed just a little bit and Jo thought it was adorable.  

“I got that vibe from just one look,” Jo nodded. The woman’s eyes came up briefly, but she still looked a little ashamed. “No need to be embarrassed. I hear worse from my team when they think I’m not listening.”  Jo made sure she was smiling as the other woman looked up completely. “Hell, I’ve heard worse from my own mother.” The woman grinned. Jo stuck her hand out. “I’m Jo Harvelle. Head softball coach. I don’t think we’ve met before.”

The redhead took Jo’s hand and shook. “I’m Anna Milton.” Her hand was soft in Jo’s and Jo felt suddenly self-conscious about the callouses she knew were on her palm from illustrating swing techniques without having gloves on. “I’m in the Communication department. Teach some journalism classes.”

“Our center fielder’s in the Communication department. Cassie Robinson.”

“Cassie’s in my Gonzo Journalism class right now,” Anna said with a smile. “She’s doing some great work. Great contributions to class discussion.” Every trace of embarrassment was gone from her face. It was clear just from that one statement how much she cared about her students and Jo felt her heart warm towards the woman. Jo had a soft spot for Cassie (one that she knew Dean shared); the girl reminded her of a better student version of herself. Jo had barely made it through college with a C average. The only thing that had kept her in school was playing ball. She’d had a hell of an arm, throwing bullets from left field to home plate on girls more often than she could count, and the administration gave her some leeway because of the athlete she was. None of her team was in that situation and Jo was proud of all of them for it even though she knew that was the case with every athlete at the small liberal arts school. It was part of the reason she felt so alienated from most people around if she were being honest with herself. It was part of the reason she got along so well with Dean and everyone else was just an acquaintance unfortunately.

“I’m not surprised,” Jo responded. It was then that she noticed the two of them were smiling at each other and Jo was the one to feel embarrassed suddenly. She felt stupid to feel such butterflies in her stomach from a simple smile and small talk conversation, but Anna was beautiful and it was the most genuine conversation Jo had had at one of these parties. Usually she was pretending to understand what a professor was talking at her about and failing even worse at caring about the subject. She could talk about her players, although she wasn’t 100 % sure she knew what Gonzo journalism was. Jo was just wrapping her brain around something else to say to steer the conversation into comfortable territory when another professor appeared at Anna’s elbow and began a conversation in fluent Spanish. Jo blanched. She recovered enough to nod at Anna and Anna turned her attention fully to Jo.

“It was very nice to meet you, Coach Harvelle.”

Jo nodded quickly and she took another gulp of her wine as she all but scampered away. She was so out of her depth she could barely stand it. She was back near the refreshments and she looked around at the conversations going around her. _Don’t come next year,_ she told herself, _just don’t._  The room was too stuffy and Jo felt as though she might be on the verge of having a panic attack about the fact that she was completely by herself and not nearly drunk enough to deal with it. It almost seemed worse to be able to see a friendly face in Dean being there but not actually being there and her eyes lit on the French doors that let out to a shallow wrap-around balcony. Air would be great. And if the air didn’t help, it might be nice to have a private place to down more wine. She grabbed another glass and surreptitiously snuck herself and both newly filled glasses out under the star-filled sky.

Jo was halfway through one glass, contemplating the best way to sneak out and walk back to her house a few blocks off campus as she stared up at the stars, not knowing anything about what constellations were up there but knowing it all looks beautiful when she heard the door open and someone sigh. She turned abruptly. It was Anna, leaning again the door with her face tilted up in a look of exasperation. Jo didn’t say anything, just watched as Anna ran a hand down her face and straightened, her eyes falling on Jo. She recovered from surprise quickly.

“Sorry. I just couldn’t pretend to be interested in that conversation anymore.” Jo nodded in understanding. “Are you drinking that?” Anna asked with a nod toward the still full glass of wine in Jo’s hand. Jo shook her head and held the glass out for Anna to take. “Thanks.” She gulped half of it down in moments. “Sorry.”

“I treated this glass the same way,” Jo explained with a shrug.

Anna gestured with her hand before she asked: “Do you mind?”

“Go right ahead,” Jo shook her head again. Anna stepped out to the balcony and took another sip of her wine when she looked up at the stars. Neither woman said anything for a moment. Jo started to fidget.

“I sort of hate these things,” Anna admitted.

“I definitely do,” Jo said with a quiet laugh. She twisted her neck around to face Anna. She couldn’t stop herself from going on. “I always feel out of place. Why do you hate them?”

“I like that the school throws them for us, and I like that most people come out, but I wish that everyone was honest. That everyone would feel what they’re feeling instead of pretending to stay in the academic ivory tower.”

“Isn’t it easier to stay in the ivory tower?”

Anna nodded. “But no one shows any passion for anything up there. They act like everything they say has to be text book ready instead of having any emotions. It’s ridiculous.” It was an incredibly honest thing to say, and Jo didn’t know how to respond for a moment. Anna went on. “We’re still people, not just machines.”

“It’d prevent a lot of awkwardness if we were all machines,” Jo sighed. She realized how that sounded and tried to backtrack, but she trailed off. “I mean…”

“I know what you mean,” Anna reassured. “But I like the awkwardness.”

“You like the awkwardness?” Jo asked, skeptically.

Anna nodded and shrugged a little. She didn’t seem to want to meet Jo’s eyes for a second before she looked directly at her. “Don’t you like the butterflies of meeting a pretty, down to earth woman?”

Jo stared and felt her heart thump in her chest. She felt her hands go clammy, the wine glass feeling slick in the one even though she knew that was all in her head. She could feel that she was blushing. She didn’t get a chance to open her mouth to even attempt to speak.

“Because I like how I feel right now,” Anna said. She was inching closer to Jo but neither mentioned it. Jo thought she might stutter when she did speak. This was so not how she expected the night to go. Nights never went like this for her. Anna was looking back up at the sky instead of at Jo when Jo was finally able to respond.          

“I don’t feel too badly right now, no.” Anna turned to Jo and smiled, moving closer still so her heat was radiating into Jo’s side.

“Good. Because I’d really like to stay out here with you. I’d also like to ask you out to dinner.” Anna said it sincerely, but in nerves, she turned back to the stars.

Jo breathed in sharply. She exhaled loudly and acted as though she wasn’t checking Anna’s expression out of the corner of her eye every other second. “You can stay.” Anna looked expectant and Jo went on. “And I’d really like to say yes.”

Anna smiled and caught Jo’s eye. “Good.”

Jo smiled back. She wasn’t sure how the night had taken this turn, but she certainly wasn’t upset about it. In fact, it had turned out better than she could have ever expected. Anna looked upward and pointed a finger toward a pattern of stars that looked like nothing more than a ‘w’ shape to Jo.

“Do you know the story of Cassiopeia?” Jo shook her head without embarrassment. “Dr. Novak is my cousin. He taught me all the constellations when I was still in high school. I’ve never forgotten them,” Anna explained. Jo was rapt as Anna told her about the constellation without making her feel stupid at all. The two of them were both almost shivering before they were willing to admit their coldness and return to the party. But Anna didn’t leave Jo for another conversation for the rest of the night and Jo found herself incredibly thankful that she had shown up after all.                                                                                                                                                                                                


End file.
